COMPLACENT Hills landowners must take responsibility for cleaning up their properties because 10,000 homes are "a disaster waiting to happen" this bushfire season, the Country Fire Service Volunteer Association has warned.

Residents had become negligent about preparing their homes ahead of a bushfire season, the association's executive director Wendy Shirley said yesterday.

Ms Shirley's concern follows a parliamentary committee report revealing that more than 10,000 homes in the Mitcham Hills and Upper Sturt areas were at risk during the coming bushfire season, because the CFS had warned that it did not have sufficient resources to protect all areas.

"If you own the fuel, you own the fire, and if it's your house or your property, then it's your responsibility to do all you can to prepare for that fire," she said.

"They (landowners) can't expect a fire appliance and a crew at the end of their driveway on a bad day."

She said there was a degree of complacency among residents because there hadn't been a big bushfire in the area for almost 20 years.

"They have to recognise they have a responsibility to themselves and to their neighbours to look after their property and have it properly prepared in case of a bushfire."

In a special report to Parliament after being taken on a tour of the area by the CFS, the parliamentary committee found cars parked illegally blocking narrow streets, gutters overflowing with leaves, overgrown gardens and subdivisions surround by dense bushland that had not seen fire since 1955.

There are also problems with the ageing water system in the Mitcham Hills.

The CFS has told the committee it has concerns about defending properties not prepared for a bushfire.

While it says it is committed to protecting life and property as far as possible, it also has an obligation to protect its volunteers and not expose them to unnecessary danger.

The parliamentary committee report warns that Craigburn Farm, now known as Blackwood Park, is a prime target for bushfires.

"If a firestorm comes from the west it will impact heavily on Craigburn Farm and is unlikely to stop there because of the gullies that pass through the middle," the report says, referring to the CFS comments.

The Advertiser last night sought comment from the CFS, but senior officers were not available.

Hills residents have responded on adelaidenow, welcoming the report, calling for action to fix the road network and also calling on home owners to do their own work to clear vegetation from around houses and on road verges.

The all-party Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Labor MP Steph Key, says that during its tour there was "much discussion" about the inability of the road network in the Mitcham Hills to allow for an orderly evacuation of residents.

"People would be better off sheltering in their homes. Their survival would depend on how well prepared their homes were," the report says.

The committee recommended:

A doornocking program in the "highly prone bushfire areas" of the Mitcham Hills with local government, local MPs, CFS and community groups.

The police minister consider the merits of recommending Mitcham Council enforce a policy of zero tolerance to illegal parking.

A review of road infrastructure in the Mitcham Hills.

Parliament support the establishment of a standing committee for natural disasters.

Local MP Iain Evans, who has been pushing for more than three years for the special bushfire committee, said yesterday the Government had flatly ignored previous recommendations.

The report says the lack of preparedness of residents in the Hills is exacerbated by confusion about fire sirens, confusion about whether to go early or stay and defend, confusion about safe areas, and a road network that will go into gridlock.

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